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Sport Nation
The historical numbers surrounding Nick Daicos
Jaiden Sciberras • July 30th, 2025 9:23 am
Nick Daicos’ Round 20 performance against Richmond was arguably one of the more dominant performances in recent history, and unsurprisingly, the data has confirmed just that.
Earning 10 coaches votes and undoubtedly another three votes to his Brownlow tally, Daicos was exceptional, collecting 42 disposals at high efficiency, accumulating 910 metres gained, 14 score involvements, eight inside 50s, four clearances, four marks, three goals and a goal assist.
While the statistics stack up, Champion Data has not been all that favourable to Daicos throughout 2025, failing to feature the star in their top 10 players at any stage across the season.
However on this occasion, even the cut-throat data system paints a picture of just how dominant this performance was.
Speaking on SEN Sportsday, Champion Data’s lead analyst Daniel Hoyne revealed the extent to which Daicos’ performance pushed the boundaries of the calculations, ranking as one of the most impressive games in history.
“Can we just appreciate and understand how good a performance that was on the weekend,” Hoyne said.
“It was the highest rated game ever by a Collingwood player, and the 14th best game in our rating system of all time.
“He is the first player ever in a game of footy to have 40+ disposals, 800+ metres (gained) and three plus goals in a game. First player ever, and he’s only played 80-odd games.
“He joins only Gary Ablett Jnr, who did this three times, and Dane Swan, who did it twice, as the only players in the game that have had multiple matches of 40+ disposals and three plus goals.
“It is frightening what this guy is doing. What he did in that performance as an individual needed to be celebrated.
“More importantly, from a Collingwood perspective, what he is doing over the last six weeks should be frightening the competition.”
Beyond Daicos’ performance against the Tigers, Hoyne also made mention of his incredible rise in the rankings since the Magpies’ bye in Round 14, identifying a change in his game that has elevated the superstar to the upper echelon of the data system.
“The reality was, at the bye, he wasn’t using the footy like we have seen Nick use the footy in his first two and a half to three seasons,” he continued.
“He was the eighth worst kick in the competition pre-bye. Post-bye, I don’t know what he did at the bye… there is no midfielder in the game that is impacting the game more through how they are using the footy.
“Think of Nick in 2023, the version of Nick in 2023 where he would have won the Brownlow if he didn’t get injured – that was ball-use Nick.
“Last year, the version of Nick had to be ball-winning Nick, because Collingwood had injuries. (Jordan) De Goey wasn’t there, (Tom) Mitchell wasn’t there, he had no support around him. They lost the ball use element of Nick.
“This year, at Round 14, the ball use wasn’t there, and we kept putting on the agenda that it was scary for the competition that Collingwood was the best team in the competition at that stage, and their best player was not impacting the game.”
Daicos is now a hot favourite for the 2025 Brownlow Medal.
